Posted by Natalie on Sun 29 Nov, 2009 – 11:33 am
The wonderful Katie from Leeds Grub called into Millies and added a review to her site:
I popped into Millies today to pick up some items for lunch. Millies won the Leeds Guide take away awards 2009 and I was interested to see why.
Millies is an interesting mix between health food store, farmers market and gourmet deli. I wondered through the shelves looking at the assortment of organic produce, dried whole foods, herbal teas, and fair trade cosmetics.
At the back of the store I found the take away counter. There was a delicious looking selection of sandwich fillings, cakes and pies. I chose a pork pie made locally by Paxton’s. It was very reasonably priced at 99p and completely yummy.
I then moved on to the cheese counter. There was a good selection of cheeses, both from the region and from further afield. I also noticed that there were free range eggs, including duck eggs and freshly made bread and scones for sale.
This is not a traditional take away, but I can see why it has won awards with its fresh, tasty looking soups and sandwiches, perfect for a healthier lunch on the go and to pick up other tasty treats and supplies.
Millies Fresh and Organic
*Fresh local produce
*Organic and whole food staples
*Deli counter and take away
More excellent reviews on all things food in and around Leeds available on Leeds Grub.
Posted by Natalie on Sat 28 Nov, 2009 – 10:06 am
Another week another coffee. This time it’s Taylors of Harrogate French Roast:
A full-bodied, smooth blend which includes a proportion of top quality Kenyan beans, giving hints of citrus fruit.
Dark roast.
Coffee Origin: Africa
Coffee Type: Whole Bean Blend
Coffee Range: Speciality Coffee Beans
Also available in: Speciality Coffee Beans
As an extra treat this weekend we’ll be using the whole milk we use for coffees in the store (and sell), Clever Cow Organics Milk from Thornhill Hall Farm, West Yorkshire:
Which all adds up to make a fabulous cappuccino to start the weekend:
Available in store.
Posted by Natalie on Sun 22 Nov, 2009 – 4:11 pm
When making anything in store we always use ingredients from our shelves so we know exactly what’s in it and that it’s the best quality. It’s no different with our take away coffees – we use Clever Cow Organics milk with Fairtrade Organic Coffee. This makes a great tasting coffee which is organic, Fairtrade and supports local farmers. All this for just £1.30!
We sell Clever Cow Organics milk (skimmed, semi-skimmed and whole, all at 62p for 500ml, 96p for 1lt and £1.90 for 2lt).
About Clever Cow Organics:
Thornhill Hall Farm, near Dewsbury is home to the 300 plus milking herd of dairy cattle, and it is their milk, which is pasteurised (but not homogenised) into the Clever Cow brand.
The herd is milked twice a day, with two calving periods; in Spring and Autumn, and the herd is based on black and white cattle which have now been cross bred, mainly to Jerseys. The cows are out at grass from late January to the end of November and much of their diet is from traditional clover leys.
Here are some organic milk facts from Clever Cow Organics
- Has all the nutritional goodness of non organic milk, but as the cow has a more natural diet there are added potential health benefits
- Naturally higher in certain nutrients than non organic milk, such as the Omega 3 essential fatty acid- Alpha Linolenic Acid
- Higher levels of Vitamin E, Vitamin A, and antioxidants. Drinking a pint of organic milk a day provides 17.5% of the required intake of Vitamin E for women and 14% of that for men, and as much beta carotene as a portion of some vegetables such as Brussels Sprouts
- Organic dairy farms do not use artificial pesticides on pastures where cows graze. UK organic dairy farms are at the forefront of European organic agricultural practices. There are perceived to be many benefits to humans of consuming less pesticide residues
- Organic cows are only given antibiotics when they are ill, and if treated the withdrawal period is at least double the recommended non-organic milk period
- Organic cows are not fed Genetically Modified cattle feed, and their feed is also free from solvents and urea.
- Introducing organic food into your diet is often perceived to be prohibitively expensive. Organic milk is excellent value compared to non- organic, a family of four can make the switch for less than £1 a week.
- Conversion to organic farming means more wildlife, and a greater variety of wildlife on organic dairy farms
- Organic cows are not fed and managed in ways that attempt to push them into production levels beyond their natural capacity
Posted by Natalie on Sat 21 Nov, 2009 – 7:09 pm
As we approach another follower milestone on Twitter, we’d like to continue our tradition and reward the 400th follower – and the person that refers them to us – with something nice. Probably one of our organic coffees and some home-made cake, such as these:
Previous winners include whatalexthinks and harrietjennings for our 300th follower and philkirby and kevin_hoare for our 200th follower.
Cake and coffee must be collected by the winners!
Posted by Natalie on Sat 21 Nov, 2009 – 4:43 pm
At Millies we always aim to support local produces and bring you the best quality produce at the right price. With our new local farm meat supplier we do just that. The lovely Dean and Angela Hullah run Tancred Field Farm, where they raise pedigree cows, pigs and sheep – they even grow their own feed to ensure they know exactly what they’re eating.
We’ve been testing out their bacon, sausages and pork chops this week at home and the Sweet Chilli Sausages soon became a favourite! The Stir Fry Pork comes already cut up and can be added straight to the wok for a fantastic stir fry. We also used it to make a pork stroganoff.
Dean and Angela Hullah and our family farm at Tancred Field Farm near Whixley between York and Harrogate in North Yorkshire producing rare breed beef, pork and lamb.
We have a herd of pedigree Lincoln Red cows, a herd of pigs that include Saddleback and Large White and a flock of sheep containing, Hiberian’s and Suffolk’s.
We are very proud of the fact that we grow our own feed for our aniamls so we know that they are eating the very best quality and in turn we believe this produces the finest quality meat.
We produce mature grass fed beef supplied in boxes from our herd of rare breed Lincoln Red Cattle.
From our rare breed Saddleback and Large White pigs we supply half pigs and hand make quality traditional 75% meat sausages using natural skins in the following varities: Pork & Apple, Pork & Leek, Pork and Mustard, Red Onion and Sage, Sweet Chilli, York Ham and Pineapple, Sundried Tomato & Basil, Pork & Chive, Pork & Apricot
Tancred Rare Breed Meats
Posted by Natalie on Tue 10 Nov, 2009 – 8:42 pm
Still working our way through the Taylors of Harrogate coffee selection available at Millies, we are now testing out Fairtrade Organic Nicaraguan coffee:
We can’t recommend this coffee highly enough. It is grown by a small farmer’s cooperative in the Matagalpa Mountains region of Nicaragua; it has a tantalising aroma and a rich flavour with a hint of roasted hazelnuts. It tastes really delicious.
Coffee Origin: Central America
Coffee Type: Whole Bean
Roast Colour: Medium Roast
Coffee Range: Speciality Coffee Beans
In a bid to keep our coffee as fresh as possible, we have now bought a grinder for the flat and bring the whole beans back, grinding only what we need. Out trusted machine from Peter Maturi is a great entry level espresso machine for anyone looking for a great coffee machine.
